Bigger and better: Pride Parade champions the Island’s LGBTQ community

Vibrant rainbow hues and upbeat tempos washed over downtown Oak Bluffs on Saturday afternoon for the fifth annual Martha’s Vineyard Pride Parade.

Hundreds of spectators of all ages gathered on the sidewalks to watch the procession of decorated golf carts, trucks, marchers, and animals as they departed from the Island Queen ferry terminal and proceeded up Seaview Avenue and Circuit Avenue, took a left onto Narragansett Avenue, and down Niantic Avenue before concluding at Ocean Park. 

As the crowd enthusiastically cheered, parade participants sang, danced, and threw candy and merchandise in celebration.

The Oak Bluffs library and the M.V. Camp Meeting Association teamed up to design an undersea-themed float consisting of a golf cart adorned with cardboard fish in the pattern of the progress Pride flag, a variant of the traditional design that features a chevron triangle to showcase underrepresented groups within the LGBTQ community.

Donning a blue and purple mermaid tail, Shivonne Schofield, head of circulation at the Oak Bluffs library, embodied the library’s character of Luna Tide, a mermaid who leads a read-aloud and pool time program for young children at the YMCA of Martha’s Vineyard.

Schofield said she believes that this year’s sunny weather conditions caused a greater turnout.

“Last year, the rain made it a little more difficult, but I think this year, the weather is beautiful, and people are all coming out in full gear,” Schofield said. “It’s awesome to see.”

Andrea Dello Russo, the former owner of Andrea’s Auto in Edgartown and a finance manager at a Harley-Davidson dealership in Oregon, marched in the parade with her partner, Lyndsey Wright. Previously, the duo rode motorcycles in the parade procession as part of Dykes on Bikes, a historically lesbian motorcycle group.

Dello Russo expressed her joy about returning to the Island for the parade. “I can’t stop smiling,” Dello Russo said. “To be back in this community and feel the support and the love and the positive energy, it’s really great.”

The parade is organized by the Martha’s Vineyard Pride Committee and the Oak Bluffs Business Association (OBA). 

M.V. Pride Committee chair and OBA Executive Director Sofie Green estimated that 38 local organizations participated in this year’s parade. She emphasized this year’s increase in both participation and attendance.

OBA President Larkin Stallings echoed these sentiments of success. “Everybody’s a bit more fabulous than in years past,” Stallings said. “[The parade] went off without a hitch.”

Stallings also commented on the Oak Bluffs Select Board’s quickness in already approving next year’s parade. “The town is working to streamline the process in an attempt to make it easier to do stuff,” he said.

Scott Mullin, coordinator of Queer Hub MV, partnered with Martha’s Vineyard Community Services and the Youth Task Force to set up an LGBTQ resources tent in Ocean Park. He noticed an uptick in foot traffic at both the tent and the parade.

“It was definitely a bigger year all around for the parade and the festivities,” Mullin said.

Emily Glanton, a rare disease researcher for the Undiagnosed Disease Network, a research study dedicated to finding solutions for undiagnosed medical conditions, was a visitor to the Island and the parade. Glanton, of Providence, said that she enjoyed seeing the parade’s animals and catching a packaged sandwich from a float by Mo’s Lunch.

Glanton said that Pride is “an act of resistance.” She said, “Especially in times when people are trying to take rights away from trans folks and trans kids, it’s important for people to show up for the community.”

Max Kieerer, an employee at the Black Dog, marched with a float designed by the Ritz Café. He said that Pride is about love and unity.

“Y’all means all. We all come together and appreciate each other, and this life that we can live and just be whoever we want,” Kieerer said.

Dressed as Dorothy Gale from “The Wizard of Oz,” Scarlet Johnson, owner of the Yoga Barn, marched in this year’s parade in support of her loved ones in the LGBTQ community.

Johnson explained the story behind her costume.

“Instead of saying, ‘Are you gay?’ because it wasn’t safe to ask that, people in the [LGBTQ] community would ask someone, ‘Are you a friend of Dorothy’s?’” Johnson said. “I’m an ally, and I thought wearing a Dorothy costume would make sense.”

For Johnson, Pride is about comfortable self-expression. “Pride means safety to be who you are out loud,” said Johnson.

Editor’s note: Updated to correct that some photo captions misidentified Ocean Park as Ocean Park.